American College of Lifestyle Medicine CEO Susan Benigas transitions to emeritus role after guiding more than a decade of extraordinary growth

After guiding more than 12 years of transformative growth and impact for the medical professional society and the field of lifestyle medicine, Susan Benigas will continue supporting ACLM's mission as CEO emeritus and senior advisor. ACLM will announce its new CEO June 4.

ST. LOUIS, June 3, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- The American College of Lifestyle Medicine (ACLM) today announced that Susan Benigas will transition from her role as chief executive officer to CEO emeritus and senior advisor after more than 12 years of transformative leadership for the medical professional society.

Since Benigas assumed leadership in March 2014, ACLM has grown from a small medical professional society with 380 members and one employee into a global force for change. Today, the organization represents more than 16,000 members, is supported by 48 staff members across 23 states, and, during her tenure, has achieved more than 4,000% growth in both size and revenue. Her leadership has helped position ACLM as the leading voice for lifestyle medicine, influencing clinicians, health systems and policymakers nationwide.

"Susan Benigas didn't just lead ACLM; she built it," said ACLM President Padmaja Patel, MD, DipABLM, FACLM, FACP, CPE. "When I think about what this organization has become: the breadth of our membership, the depth of our community, the way lifestyle medicine has moved from the margins to the mainstream of healthcare conversations over the last 12 years, Susan's fingerprints are on all of it.

"She poured herself into this work with a rare combination of vision and tenacity, and the people she brought together — clinicians, researchers, advocates — are her most enduring legacy. On behalf of the entire ACLM board and membership, I am deeply grateful."

Under Benigas' leadership, ACLM achieved numerous milestone accomplishments that accelerated the field of lifestyle medicine, both domestically and globally. Benigas co-founded the Lifestyle Medicine Global Alliance and supported the launch of the American Board of Lifestyle Medicine, paving the way for the International Board of Lifestyle Medicine. Today, more than 10,000 physicians and health professionals worldwide have earned board certification in lifestyle medicine. In 2024, ACLM was inducted into the American Medical Association (AMA) House of Delegates, an historic milestone of professional recognition for lifestyle medicine.

Other milestones include the White House showcasing ACLM for its $24 million commitment in support of the 2022 White House Conference on Hunger, Nutrition, and Health, which ultimately provided lifestyle medicine and food as medicine education to nearly 80,000 clinicians nationwide. Under Benigas' leadership, addressing the gaping void of lifestyle medicine in medical education—particularly in nutrition—has been a top priority, with more than 1.2 million hours of CME and CE delivered to date.

"Susan Benigas' understanding of the lifestyle medicine community runs so very deep, and her heart and wisdom have led us to reach greater heights each and every year," said ACLM Immediate Past President and Harvard Medical School Associate Professor, Part-Time Beth Frates, MD, DipABLM, FACLM. "We are so fortunate to have had her as our chief executive during such a critical time in the history of our field. We are extremely grateful for all of her selfless and tireless work over the years."

The recipient of ACLM's inaugural President's Award in 2019, Benigas received the 2025 AMA Medical Executive Meritorious Achievement Award for her exceptional leadership and service in advancing lifestyle medicine to achieve healthcare's Quintuple Aim.

"Leading ACLM, in partnership with our Board of Directors, has been a remarkable journey—a journey that breathed full life into the vision that was first cast by trailblazing physicians back in 2004," Benigas said. "Alongside our exceptional staff and passion-driven members, we have guided ACLM's evolution from a small medical professional society into a global force for change, establishing lifestyle medicine as a board‑certified medical specialty to firmly entrench the vision of care that leads with addressing the root cause of disease.

"As ACLM enters its next chapter, I look forward to continuing to support the College's mission and leadership, helping to build upon the strong foundation that, together, we've created, solidifying lifestyle medicine as our nation's—and the world's—standard of care."

ACLM will announce its next chief executive officer on June 4.

About ACLM^®
The American College of Lifestyle Medicine (ACLM) is the nation's medical professional society advancing the field of lifestyle medicine as the foundation of a redesigned, value-based and equitable healthcare delivery system, essential to achieving the Quintuple Aim and whole-person health. ACLM represents, advocates for, trains, certifies, and equips its members to identify and eradicate the root cause of chronic disease by optimizing modifiable risk factors. ACLM is filling the gaping void of lifestyle medicine in medical education, providing more than 1.2 million hours of lifestyle medicine education to physicians and other health professionals since 2004, while also advancing research, clinical practice and reimbursement strategies.

SOURCE American College of Lifestyle Medicine